“Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home
is good actions, or Faith in Christ…it does seem to me like asking which blade
in a pair of scissors is most necessary.” (Mere Christianity, 148)
I would like to take Lewis’ analogy and apply it to another, similar concept, this concept is ‘works vs. grace’, and by which are we saved. I have spent a lot of time thinking about grace. I would like to share the following story about a personal experience I had with grace and how it changed my view of it.
There are three parties involved. Let me introduce them to you. First Rev. John Newton; Newton was a man who lived in the eighteenth century at the height of the slave trade. What the slave traders would do is go to Africa and anchor off the African coast. There, tribal chiefs would deliver to the Europeans stockades full of men and women, captured in raids and wars against other tribes. Buyers would select the finest specimens, which would be bartered for weapons, ammunition, metal, liquor, trinkets, and cloth. Then the captives would be loaded aboard and packed for sailing. They were chained below decks to prevent suicides, laid side by side to save space, row after row, one after another, until the vessel was laden with as many as 600 units of human cargo. In these subhuman conditions mortality sometimes ran 20% or higher. When an outbreak of smallpox or dysentery occurred, the stricken were cast overboard. Once they arrived in the New World, blacks were traded for sugar and molasses to manufacture rum, which the ships would carry to England for the final leg of their trade. Then off to Africa for yet another round. John Newton participated actively in this cruel and merciless trade practice for many years. During one of his voyages he happened upon a copy of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ--which sowed the seeds of his conversion. When a ship if his nearly foundered in a storm and through a series of other significant events he gave his life to Christ. Later he was promoted to captain of a slave ship. Commanding a slave vessel seems like a strange place to find a new Christian and finally the inhuman aspects of the business began to pall on him, and he left the sea for good.
While working as a tide surveyor he studied for the ministry, and for the last 43 years of his life preached the gospel in Olney and London. At 82, Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour." His gravestone reads as follows:
JOHN NEWTON, Clerk Once an infidel and libertine A servant of slaves in
Africa, Was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST, restored,
pardoned, and appointed to preach the Gospel which he had long laboured to
destroy. He ministered, Near sixteen years in Olney, in Bucks, And twenty-eight
years in this Church.
Reverend Newton is the author of over three hundred hymns the most famous one being “Amazing Grace.”
Person number two; Jack Hilterbrand. Jack Hilterbrand is my maternal grandfather. He is one of the most honest, hardworking, kind, caring, trustworthy individuals I have ever met. He was raised in Roberts, Idaho by good parents, but parents who had very strong negative feeling for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints due to some bad experiences they had had with them. As an indication of this Jack, until the age of forty literally thought that “damnmormon” was one word. Jack grew up, fell in love with and later married Lois Walker. Lois was raised in a “dyed-in–the-wool” Mormon family who could trace its roots back to affiliations with Joseph Smith and other original apostles. As you can imagine this caused quite a bit of a stir in both of the families.
After they got married they started a family and a homestead in Rupert, Idaho. They were blessed with four daughters. Jack always referred to himself as a “Jack with five Queens”, and he treated them that way…like queens…because they are. Lois raised the daughters extremely faithfully in the Mormon Church. Never missed a Sunday, always had family home evening, always held a calling, always had her visiting teaching done by the 3rd of the month, an amazing woman. Though Jack was never discouraging of his family attending church he was never really encouraging either. Jack is a good man and we don’t really know all the reasons for which he never decided to get baptized, but one we do know of is that he struggled with an addiction to cigarettes. Jack had watched his own father die of cancer and really hated smoking and was ashamed of it. In all the years that I knew him I have never actually seen him smoke. But he was addicted and couldn’t seem to quit in spite of his hatred and resentment for it. Finally at the age of 73 he decided that it was time for him to get baptized. With help from God and as an answer to hundreds of thousands of prayers, he quit smoking. One year after his baptism he was sealed for time and all eternity to his family in the Temple of God. After many years of struggling with very poor health he passed away at the age 80.
Person number three; Scott McComas. Scott is my father’s youngest brother, my uncle. He was raised in southern California at the height of the “hippie” era. He chose a very difficult path in life and as a result lived a very hard life, a life following the ways of the world, and thus became hardened himself. In his mid-thirties something happened and he began to change. He began to turn his life around. He began reading the scriptures and attending church regularly, really just trying to be a better person and live a better life. At one point during this transitional time he was talking to another brother of his, who had also chosen a difficult path, he said, “you don’t have to his rock bottom like I did to finally turn around and start heading back up, do it now.” Shortly after he began to “start heading back up” he passed away as a result of living such a hard life for so many years. Scott was a fan of blues music and played the harmonica. I myself have been picking up the harmonica lately and trying to blow out a few songs.
Recently I was visiting my grandmother, Jack’s wife, in Rupert as were my parents. I’d requested that my dad bring along some of Scott’s old harmonicas. He did bring them and gave me a few. While I was in Rupert I had the opportunity to visit Grandpa Jack’s gravesite. He is buried in a small cemetery surrounded by sagebrush, wheat field and cow pastures. As I stood over his grave and felt the cool breeze in my face and smelled the smells he loved so much of grain, sagebrush and cattle I pondered what a great man and example he is to me. I then pulled out of my pocket one of Scott’s old harmonicas looked at it and did the same regarding the great man that Scott is. I then blew a refrain of the hymn “Amazing Grace” and pondered on Reverend Newton. Read through the lyrics of that hymn:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart
to fear, And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
As I blew out this tune I felt the greatness of these three great men; Reverend John Newton, Jack Hilterbrand, and Scott McComas. Each one felt the Grace of God in their lives and truly lived the lines; “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see…How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed…’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”
These men truly were saved by the Grace of God, as we all are, and Grace did lead them safely home. They were men that tried hard to do what is right, they did their best. Their (and our) best is never good enough though. We are not perfect and can never be so without the help of Christ. We have to be our part of the scissors while Christ will always be the other part. Now the only part of Lewis’ analogy that doesn’t quite sit well with me in this context is that it would seem that our part and Christ’s part are equal, we are each one half of the scissors. However in my experience this is never the case, He always does far more than we ever can. I guess that’s why we call His grace amazing!
